Chapter I: Preface: To the Seventh Volume

Of the seventy-three "Epigrams and Jeux d'Esprit," which are printed at the commencement of this volume, forty-five were included in Murray's one-volume edition of 1837, eighteen have been collected from various publications, and ten are printed and published for the first time.

The "Devil's Drive," which appears in Moore's _Letters and Journals_, and in the sixth volume of the Collected Edition of 1831 as an "Unfinished Fragment" of ninety-seven lines, is now printed and published for the first time in its entirety (248 lines), from a MS. in the possession of the Earl of Ilchester. "A Farewell Petition to J.C.H. Esq.;" "My Boy Hobbie O;" "[Love and Death];" and "Last Words on Greece," are reprinted from the first volume of _Murray's Magazine_ (1887).

A few imperfect and worthless poems remain in MS.; but with these and one or two other unimportant exceptions, the present edition of the Poetical Works may be regarded as complete.

In compiling a "Bibliography of the successive Editions and Translations of Lord Byron's Poetical Works," I have endeavoured, in the first instance, to give a full and particular account of the collected editions and separate issues of the poems and dramas which were open to my inspection; and, secondly, to extract from general bibliographies, catalogues of public and private libraries, and other sources bibliographical records of editions which I have been unable to examine, and were known to me only at second-hand. It will be observed that the _title-pages_ of editions which have passed through my hands are aligned; the _titles_ of all other editions are italicized.

I cannot pretend that this assortment of bibliographical entries is even approximately exhaustive; but as "a sample" of a bibliography it will, I trust, with all its imperfections, be of service to the student of literature, if not to the amateur or bibliophile. With regard to nomenclature and other technicalities, my aim has been to put the necessary information as clearly and as concisely as possible, rather than to comply with the requirements of this or that formula. But the path of the bibliographer is beset with difficulties. "Al Sirat's arch"--"the bridge of breadth narrower than the thread of a famished spider, and sharper than the edge of a sword" (see _The Giaour_, line 483, _note_ I)--affords an easier and a safer foothold.

To the general reader a bibliography says little or nothing; but, in one respect, a bibliography of Byron is of popular import. It affords scientific proof of an almost unexampled fame, of a far-reaching and still potent influence. Teuton and Latin and Slav have taken Byron to themselves, and have made him their own. No other English poet except Shakespeare has been so widely read and so frequently translated. Of _Manfred_ I reckon one Bohemian translation, two Danish, two Dutch, three French, nine German, three Hungarian, three Italian, two Polish, one Romaic, one Roumanian, four Russian, and three Spanish translations, and, in all probability, there are others which have escaped my net. The question, the inevitable question, arises--What was, what is, the secret of Byron's Continental vogue? and why has his fame gone out into all lands? Why did Goethe enshrine him, in the second part of _Faust_, "as the representative of the modern era ... undoubtedly to be regarded as the greatest genius of our century?" (_Conversations of Goethe_, 1874, p. 265).

It is said, and with truth, that Byron's revolutionary politics commended him to oppressed nationalities and their sympathizers; that he was against "the tramplers"--Castlereagh, and the Duke of Wellington, and the Holy Alliance; that he stood for liberty. Another point in his favour was his freedom from cant, his indifference to the pieties and proprieties of the Britannic Muse; that he had the courage of his opinions. Doubtless in a time of trouble he was welcomed as the champion of revolt, but deeper reasons must be sought for an almost exclusive preference for the works of one poet and a comparative indifference to the works of his rivals and contemporaries. He fulfilled another, perhaps a greater ideal. An Englishman turns to poetry for the expression in beautiful words of his happier and better feelings, and he is not contented unless poetry tends to make him happier or better--happier because better than he would be otherwise. His favourite poems are psalms, or at least metrical paraphrases, of life. Men of other nations are less concerned about their feelings and their souls. They regard the poet as the creator, the inventor, the maker _par excellence_, and he who can imagine or make the greatest _eidolon_ is the greatest poet. _Childe Harold_ and _The Corsair_, _Mazeppa_ and _Manfred, Cain_ and _Sardanapalus_ were new creations, new types, forms more real than living man, which appealed to their artistic sense, and led their imaginations captive. "It is a mark," says Goethe (_Aus meinem Leben: Dichtung und Wahreit_, 1876, iii. 125), "of true poetry, that, as a secular gospel, it knows how to free us from the earthly burdens which press upon us, by inward serenity, by outward charm.... The most lively, as well as the gravest works have the same end--to moderate both pleasure and pain through a happy mental representation." It is passion translated into action, the pageantry of history, the transfiguration into visible lineaments of living moods and breathing thoughts which are the notes of this "secular gospel," and for one class of minds work out a secular redemption.

It was not only the questionable belief that he was on the side of the people, or his ethical and theological audacities, or his prolonged Continental exile, which won for Byron a greater name abroad than he has retained at home; but the character of his poetry. "The English may think of Byron as they please" (_Conversations of Goethe_, 1874, p. 171), "but this is certain, that they can show no poet who is to be compared to him. He is different from all the others, and, for the most part, greater." The English may think of him as they please! and for them, or some of them, there is "a better oenomel," a _vinum Dæmonum_, which Byron has not in his gift. The evidence of a world-wide fame will not endear a poet to a people and a generation who care less for the matter than the manner of verse, or who _believe_ in poetry as the symbol or "_credo_" of the imagination or the spirit; but it should arrest attention and invite inquiry. A bibliography is a dull epilogue to a poet's works, but it speaks with authority, and it speaks last. _Finis coronat opus!_

I must be permitted to renew my thanks to Mr. G.F. Barwick, _Superintendent of the Reading Room_, Mr. Cyril Davenport, and other officials of the British Museum, of all grades and classes, for their generous and courteous assistance in the preparation and completion of the Bibliography. The consultation of many hundreds of volumes of one author, and the permission to retain a vast number in daily use, have entailed exceptional labour on a section of the staff. I have every reason to be grateful.

I am indebted to Mr. A.W. Pollard, of the British Museum, for advice and direction with regard to bibliographical formulas; to Mr. G.L. Calderon, late of the staff, for the collection and transcription of the title-pages of Polish, Russian, and Servian translations; and to Mr. R. Nisbet Bain for the supervision and correction of the proofs of Slavonic titles.

To Mr. W.P. Courtney, the author of _Bibliotheca Cornubiensis_, I owe many valuable hints and suggestions, and the opportunity of consulting some important works of reference.

I have elsewhere acknowledged the valuable information with regard to certain rare editions and pamphlets which I have received from Mr. H. Buxton Forman, C.B.

My especial thanks for laborious researches undertaken on my behalf, and for information not otherwise attainable, are due to M. J.E. Aynard, of Lyons; Signor F. Bianco; Professor Max von Förster, of Wurtzburg; Professor Lajos Gurnesovitz, of Buda Pest; Dr. Holzhausen, of Bonn; Mr. Leonard Mackall, of Berlin; Miss Peacock; Miss K. Schlesinger; M. Voynich, of Soho Square; Mr. Theodore Bartholomew, of the University Library of Cambridge; Mr. T.D. Stewart, of the Croydon Public Library; and the Librarians of Trinity College, Cambridge, and University College, St. Andrews.

I have also to thank, for special and generous assistance, Mr. J.P. Anderson, late of the British Museum, the author of the "Bibliography of Byron's Works" attached to the Life of Lord Byron by the Hon. Roden Noel (1890); Miss Grace Reed, of Philadelphia, for bibliographical entries of early American editions; and Professor Vladimir Hrabar, of the University of Dorpat, for the collection and transcription of numerous Russian translations of Byron's Works.

To Messrs. Clowes, the printers of these volumes, and to their reader, Mr. F.T. Peachey, I am greatly indebted for the transcription of Slavonic titles included in the Summary of the Bibliography, and for interesting and useful information during the progress of the work.

In conclusion, I must once more express my acknowment of the industry and literary ability of my friend Mr. F.E. Taylor, of Chertsey, who has read the proofs of this and the six preceding volumes.

The Index is the work of Mr. C. Eastlake Smith.

ERNEST HARTLEY COLERIDGE.

November, 1903.

CONTENTS OF VOL. VII.

Preface to Vol. VII. of the Poems. _v_

JEUX D'ESPRIT AND MINOR POEMS, 1798-1824.

Epigram on an Old Lady who had some Curious Notions respecting the 1 Soul. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 28.

Epitaph on John Adams, of Southwell. First published, _Letters and 1 Journals_, 1830, i. 106.

A Version of Ossian's Address to the Sun. First published, 2 _Atlantic Monthly_, December, 1898.

Lines to Mr. Hodgson. Written on board the Lisbon Packet. First 4 published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 230-232.

[To Dives. A Fragment.] First published, _Lord Byron's Works_, 7 1833, xvii. 241.

Farewell Petition to J.C.H., Esq^re.^ First published, _Murray's 7 Magazine_, 1887, vol. i. pp. 290, 291.

Translation of the Nurse's Dole in the _Medea_ of Euripides. First 10 published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 227.

My Epitaph. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 240. 10

Substitute for an Epitaph. First published, _Lord Byron's Works_, 11 1832, ix. 4.

Epitaph for Joseph Blacket, late Poet and Shoemaker. First 11 published, _Lord Byron's Works_, 1832, ix. 10.

On Moore's Last Operatic Farce, or Farcical Opera. First published, 12 _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 295 (_note_).

[R.C. Dallas.] First published, _Life, Writings, Opinions, etc._, 12 1825, ii. 192.

An Ode to the Framers of the Frame Bill. First published, _Morning 13 Chronicle_, March 2, 1812.

To the Honorable Mr. George Lamb. First published, _The Two 15 Duchesses_, by Vere Foster, 1898, p. 374.

[La Revanche.] _MS.M_. 15

To Thomas Moore. Written the Evening before his Visit to Mr. Leigh 16 Hunt in Horsemonger Lane Gaol, May 19, 1813. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 401.

On Lord Thurlow's Poems. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 17 1830, i. 396.

To Lord Thurlow. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 19 397.

The Devil's Drive. First published (stanzas 1-5, 8, 10-12, 17, 18), 21 _Letters and Journals_, 1830, i. 471-474; and (stanzas 6, 7, 9, 13-16, 19-27) from a MS. in the possession of the Earl of Ilchester.

Windsor Poetics. First published, _Poetical Works_, Paris, 1819, 35 vi. 125.

[Another Version.] On a Royal Visit to the Vaults. From an 36 autograph MS. in the possession of the Hon. Mrs. Norbury, now for the first time printed.

Ich Dien. From an autograph MS. in the possession of Mr. A.H. 36 Hallam Murray, now for the first time printed.

Condolatory Address, To Sarah Countess of Jersey. First published, 37 _The Champion_, July 31, 1814.

Fragment of an Epistle to Thomas Moore. First published, _Letters 39 and Journals_, 1830, i. 561, 562 (_note_).

Answer to----'s Professions of Affection. _MS_. 40

On Napoleon's Escape from Elba. First published, _Letters and 41 Journals_, 1830, i. 611.

Endorsement to the Deed of Separation, in the April of 1816. First 41 published, _Poetical Works_, 1831, vi. 454.

[To George Anson Byron (?).] First published, _Nicnac_, March 25, 41 1823.

Song for the Luddites. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 42 1830, ii. 58.

To Thomas Moore ("What are you doing now?"). First published, 23 _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 58, 59.

To Mr. Murray ("To hook the Reader," etc.). First published, 44 _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 91.

Versicles. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 87. 45

Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat. First published, _Letters_, 1900, iv. 45

To Thomas Moore ("My boat is on the shore"). First published, 46 _Waltz_, London, 1821, p. 29.

Epistle from Mr. Murray to Dr. Polidori. First published, _Letters 47 and Journals_, 1830, ii. 139-141.

Epistle to Mr. Murray. First published (stanzas 1, 2, 4, 7-9), 51 _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 156, 157; and (stanzas 3, 5, 6, 10, 11) _Letters_, 1900, iv. 191-193.

On the Birth of John William Rizzo Hoppner. First published, 54 _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 134.

[E Nihilo Nihil; or, An Epigram Bewitched.] _MS.M_. 55

To Mr. Murray. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 56 171.

Ballad. To the Tune of "Sally in our Alley." _MS.M_. 58

Another Simple Ballat. _MS.M_. 61

Epigram. From the French of Rulhiéres. First published, _Letters 62 and Journals_, 1830, ii. 235.

Epilogue. First published, _Philadelphia Record_, December 28, 63 1891.

On my Wedding-Day. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, 64 ii. 294.

Epitaph for William Pitt. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 64 1830, ii. 295.

Epigram ("In digging up your bones, Tom Paine"). First published, 65 _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 295.

Epitaph ("Posterity will ne'er survey"). First published, _Lord 65 Byron's Works_, 1833, xvii. 246.

Epigram ("The world is a bundle of hay"). First published, _Letters 65 and Journals_, 1830, ii. 494.

My Boy Hobbie O. First published, _Murray's Magazine_, March, 1887, 66 vol. i. pp. 292, 293.

Lines, Addressed by Lord Byron to Mr. Hobhouse on his Election for 69 Westminster. First published, _Miscellaneous Poems_, 1824.

A Volume of Nonsense. First published, _Letters_, 1900, v. 83. 70

Stanzas. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 377. 70

To Penelope. First published, Medwin's _Conversations_, 1824 p. 106. 71

The Charity Ball. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, 71 ii. 540.

Epigram, On the Braziers' Address, etc. First published, _Letters 72 and Journals_, 1830, ii. 442.

On my Thirty-third Birthday. First published, _Letters and 73 Journals_, 1830, ii. 414.

Martial, Lib. I. Epig. I. First published, _Lord Byron's Works_, 74 1833, xvii. 245.

Bowles and Campbell. First published, _The Liberal_, 1823, No. II. 74 p. 398.

Elegy. First published, Medwin's _Conversations_, 1824, p. 121. 75

John Keats. First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 506. 76

From the French ("Ægle, beauty and poet," etc.). First published, 76 _The Liberal_, 1823, No. II. p. 396.

To Mr. Murray ("For Orford," etc.). First published, _Letters and 76 Journals_, 1830, ii. 517.

[Napoleon's Snuff-box.] First published, _Conversations of Lord 77 Byron_, 1824, p. 235.

The New Vicar of Bray. First published, _Works_ (Galignani), 1831, 78 p. 116.

Lucietta. A Fragment. _MS.M_. 81

Epigrams. First published, _The Liberal_, No. I. October 18, 1822, 81 p. 164.

The Conquest. First published, _Lord Byron's Works_, 1833, xvii. 82 246.

Impromptu ("Beneath Blessington's eyes"). First published, _Letters 82 and Journals_, 1830, ii. 635.

Journal in Cephalonia. First published, _Letters_, 1901, vi. 238. 83

Song to the Suliotes. _MS.M_. 83

[Love and Death.] First published, _Murray's Magazine_, February, 84 1887, vol. i. pp. 145, 146.

Last Words on Greece. First published, _Murray's Magazine_, 85 February, 1887, vol. i. p. 146.

On this Day I complete my Thirty-sixth Year. First published, 86 _Morning Chronicle_, October 29, 1824.

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE SUCCESSIVE EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS OF LORD 89 BYRON'S _POETICAL WORKS_.

NOTES--

Note (1).--On Genuine and Spurious Issues of _English Bards, and 305 Scotch Reviewers_.

Note (2).--Correspondence between the First Edition as numbered and 307 the Present Issue as numbered.

Note (3).--The Annotated Copies of the Fourth Edition of 1811 310